SI posted this link this morning. Apparently someone dug this up, and its making the rounds online. I know this was quite a while ago....but I'm shocked that Pierre is still in hockey after things like this. I guess NBC didn't take the time to vet him, or they just didn't care. Apologies to anyone who already knew this, but this has some gems that I couldn't pass up:

With one brush of his newly recovered powers Thursday, general manager Paul Holmgren did more to unify the Whalers than anybody in recent team history.

Holmgren fired coach Pierre McGuire after six months.

It was more than a great idea.

It was justice.

In 15 years of covering the NHL, we had never seen a coach so universally disrespected and disliked within his own organization.

In a blistering post-mortem, captain Pat Verbeek called McGuire's firing the best thing that could have happened to the Whalers. He said other teams mocked their coach. He said his own teammates had no respect for McGuire. He said a number of players wouldn't have wanted to play in Hartford anymore.

We said McGuire was overemotional.

When the hallway curtain opened after a loss in Boston, McGuire was found by the media wildly smashing sticks against the wall. When the door opened after a loss in Pittsburgh, McGuire was seen knocking furniture around the coach's room.

We said he was full of himself.

Many times he privately said after a game how he outcoached the other guy. But it was something never really made public until May 3, when McGuire proclaimed that no coach in the NHL ``can outwit me.'' That quote ran in The Hockey News and raised eyebrows all over the NHL.

Once when he was an assistant coach, McGuire bragged about his strategy to shut down Mario Lemieux. This was after a 7-3 loss and four goals by Kevin Stevens.

On the bench, players said McGuire would taunt the other team, saying he couldn't believe the opposing coach was allowing him certain line matchups. This braggadocio led Pittsburgh's Jaromir Jagr to mock McGuire in December. McGuire got Jagr for an illegal stick, and after Jagr jumped out of the penalty box, he scored on a breakaway. Although he had scored big goals in two Stanley Cup championships, Jagr called this overtime goal the biggest of his life because he humbled ``that know-it-all.''

I'm not saying I love the guy (Milbury), but hitting a fan with a shoe is totally awesome... even awesomer if the 'victim' was getting beat with his own shoe.

Also, the information I learned in that article just solidified my view of McGuire as a total wiener.

So you're okay with a coach that is willing to beat a fan with their own shoe... but you think McGuire is a total wiener because he was full of himself. That just screams something wrong to me, but to each their own.

On the topic... people can change. Obviously there were some horrible role models in the past, but it doesn't mean they can't change and still provide substance to the world. McGuire and Milbury each have their own set of problems, but each has their own job right now because of their ability to change and provide a personality to the audience. We may not respect them, nor do we, but there are people out there that like them. New fans will appreciate McGuire's encyclopedia of hockey knowledge of players past. New fans can enjoy Milbury's uncanned blunt opinion. They don't need to know their past, as long as it isn't directly affecting their future.

McGuire obviously got fired, as well did Milbury. They just found new spots in a sport they both enjoy. Ones they can also handle.

I read this and was stunned and entertained by it. I honestly had no recollection/knowledge that he was a former coach. I'm 31, and my hockey interest kicked in during the mid-90's, but I certainly didn't follow much outside the Red Wings until later in the decade. And with no real internet coverage, that was mostly whatever The Deuce (ESPN2) was showing.

If you really look at NBC's lineup, it's just littered with guys that have been more or less discareded by the game of hockey. Compare that to the NFL, where the same network employs legendary, accomplished coaches like Cowher and Dungy. Milbury's one of the worst GM's in NHL history. Pierre was a pompous brat and a terrible coach. Roenick betrayed his own union and the fans after the 2004 lockout. And Eddie Olczyk is f$%&ing Eddie Olczyk!

So you're okay with a coach that is willing to beat a fan with their own shoe... but you think McGuire is a total wiener because he was full of himself. That just screams something wrong to me, but to each their own.

I think it goes without saying that it all depends on if the dude deserved to get beat with a shoe. I'm going on the premise that the shoe beating was justifiable.

I read this and was stunned and entertained by it. I honestly had no recollection/knowledge that he was a former coach. I'm 31, and my hockey interest kicked in during the mid-90's, but I certainly didn't follow much outside the Red Wings until later in the decade. And with no real internet coverage, that was mostly whatever The Deuce (ESPN2) was showing.

If you really look at NBC's lineup, it's just littered with guys that have been more or less discareded by the game of hockey. Compare that to the NFL, where the same network employs legendary, accomplished coaches like Cowher and Dungy. Milbury's one of the worst GM's in NHL history. Pierre was a pompous brat and a terrible coach. Roenick betrayed his own union and the fans after the 2004 lockout. And Eddie Olczyk is f$%&ing Eddie Olczyk!

To be fair Matt Millen is also considered a respected analyst and he's a f-ing moron

I bought some Maple Lea Tea. It cost a fortune and didn't come with a Cup.

I read this and was stunned and entertained by it. I honestly had no recollection/knowledge that he was a former coach. I'm 31, and my hockey interest kicked in during the mid-90's, but I certainly didn't follow much outside the Red Wings until later in the decade. And with no real internet coverage, that was mostly whatever The Deuce (ESPN2) was showing.

If you really look at NBC's lineup, it's just littered with guys that have been more or less discareded by the game of hockey. Compare that to the NFL, where the same network employs legendary, accomplished coaches like Cowher and Dungy. Milbury's one of the worst GM's in NHL history. Pierre was a pompous brat and a terrible coach. Roenick betrayed his own union and the fans after the 2004 lockout. And Eddie Olczyk is f$%&ing Eddie Olczyk!

Same...I had no idea a douchey little idiot like Pierre could ever be hired as a coach. It was news to me.

I also agree with you on NBC's hockey coverage lineup. Why do they keep hiring rejects? Is it because the decent ones get paid more up in Canada?

I'm not saying I love the guy (Milbury), but hitting a fan with a shoe is totally awesome... even awesomer if the 'victim' was getting beat with his own shoe.

A professional athlete losing his temper like an infant and entering the stands to fight spectators is not "totally awesome." I believe the term you're looking for is, instead, "completely inexcusable."

I'll trust NBC in 2013, the fact that he was the runner up for the Wild GM job a couple years ago, and the fact that TSN jumped at the opportunity to bring him back for their draft show this year as a greater judge of character than an article from 1994 which isn't even that incriminating: He wanted to win, hated losing, was confident in his ability, and was disliked by some players and personalities in the organization. WOAH

A professional athlete losing his temper like an infant and entering the stands to fight spectators is not "totally awesome." I believe the term you're looking for is, instead, "completely inexcusable."

I think it goes without saying that it all depends on if the dude deserved to get beat with a shoe. I'm going on the premise that the shoe beating was justifiable.

A professional athlete losing his temper like an infant and entering the stands to fight spectators is not "totally awesome." I believe the term you're looking for is, instead, "completely inexcusable." I think it goes without saying that it all depends on if the dude deserved to get beat with a shoe. I'm going on the premise that the shoe beating was justifiable. Sometimes... people deserve to get hit with a shoe. Spare the rod...

Spare the rod use a wingtip

I'll trust NBC in 2013, the fact that he was the runner up for the Wild GM job a couple years ago, and the fact that TSN jumped at the opportunity to bring him back for their draft show this year as a greater judge of character than an article from 1994 which isn't even that incriminating: He wanted to win, hated losing, was confident in his ability, and was disliked by some players and personalities in the organization. WOAH

He has some knowledge of the game. That doesn't mean he's not a creepy little man.

Its unacceptable for anyone. Lets take to the every day level to put in in perspective.

Someone says something that you don't like or looks at you the wrong way or whatever while you are walking down the street, and so you proceed to try to beat them mercilessly with your boot.

There are likely two possible outcomes, assuming you don't actually kill the guy. You get arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and spend several years in prison, on top of the guy suing you and taking everything you have from you. Or the guy shoots/stabs/beats you and kills you in self defense.